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by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815)
Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Ach, es ist so dunkel in des Todes...
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG FRE NOR
Ach, es ist so dunkel in des Todes Kammer,
  Tönt so traurig, wenn er sich bewegt
Und nun aufhebt seinen schweren Hammer,
  Und die Stunde schlägt.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Matthias Claudius, Werke. Dritter Band. Vierte Auflage. ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, Sechster Theil, Cannstatt, C. F. Richter, 1835, page 85.


Text Authorship:

  • by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Der Tod" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Ach, es ist so dunkel", op. 2 (Sechs Lieder) no. 2 (1922) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Dorothee Fischer (1894 - 1981), "Der Tod" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Karl Horwitz, né Curt Horwitz (1884 - 1925), "Der Tod", op. 6 no. 3, published 1921 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Karl Horwitz, né Curt Horwitz (1884 - 1925), "Der Tod", op. 8 (Vom Tode) no. 2, published 1922 [ baritone and large orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Huub de Lange (b. 1955), "Der Tod", published 2008 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from 5 Liedchen von Liebe und Tod, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Kurt Lange (1881 - 1958), "Der Tod", published 191-?, from Drei Lieder, no. 2, München: Callwey [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Der Tod", op. 60 (Drei Lieder) no. 2, published 1947 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Der Tod", op. 52 no. 16 (1937) [ voice and piano ], from Wandsbecker Liederbuch: Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Matthias Claudius, no. 16, Wien: Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Meinrad Schütter (1910 - 2006), "Der Tod", 1956/76 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Der Tod", 1901-4, from Acht frühe Lieder, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "Ah, it is so dark in Death's chamber", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , "Death", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La mort", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Døden", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Jeroen Scholten

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 26

Death
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Oh, it is so dark in the chamber of Death,
Sounding so sorrowfully, when he stirs himself;
Now he lifts his brutal hammer,
And the hour tolls.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Michael P Rosewall, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Der Tod"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2015-08-24
Line count: 4
Word count: 27

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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